


a picture says a thousand words

by kevin_wins



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 18:29:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14983043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kevin_wins/pseuds/kevin_wins
Summary: Jason and Cordelia go through some photos that Marvin picked up from Whizzers photography studio.





	a picture says a thousand words

Cordelia and Charlotte were at Marvin’s home already. It seemed to Jason that if at least one of the neighbors weren’t there, his father would be a hot mess.

But Jason was Marvin’s only rock, and deep down, everyone knew it. Trina was afraid that if Jason missed a weekend with his father, he would become a spiraling alcoholic. Mendel was afraid that if Marvin didn’t see his son, he would disconnect from reality. Cordelia was afraid that Marvin would stop taking care of himself if he didn’t have to take care of Jason. Charlotte was afraid that no one would be around to witness the slow toll of the mysterious illness that took Whizzer and so many other bachelors if Jason wasn’t there.

“Hey Jason!” Cordelia plastered a smile as she hugged Jason, before moving on to hug Marvin as well.

“Hey Cordelia.” Jason smiled, but it was clearly evident that he was crying before. “Dad went and got all of Whizzers pictured and stuff from his old studio, can you come help me go through it?”

“Of course hon.” Cordelia smiled sadly as she looked at Marvin and Charlotte, who were talking quietly, so as to not upset Jason. “Let’s go get them.”

                        OoOoOoO

Jason dumped out endless boxes on the floor, creating hills and valleys of various photographs. A musty smell overcame the small room, of yellowing paper and warm plastic, with a touch of stale cigarettes. A lot of the photos were of random people and models, small-time actors who needed headshots, families who tried to look perfect for a Christmas card.

“Hey, isn’t that you?” Cordelia grinned wickedly, finding a picture of an eleven year old Jason, who was a tiny and pale little thing, but at least his smile was real and true. Jason remembered how he would hang out at the studio, even after Whizzer and Marvin broke up. Sometimes they would just fool around, and sometimes they would take pictures of each other, with Whizzer introducing Jason to the rudiments of photography. At the bottom of the picture, there was a note that read ‘The pasties child to ever exist.’

Jason laughed instinctively, but it soon turned genuine. “Shut up Cordelia. I bet there’s some embarrassing photo of you in here.” He playfully grabbed at the photo, but Cordelia snatched it away.

“Oh Jason, there are only good photos of me, you should know that by now.” Cordelia teased, placing the photo of Jason beside her.

“Oh really?” Jason questioned, picking up a photo of Cordelia, mid sneeze. He flashed the photo, before placing it beside him.

“Gimme that!” Cordelia nearly shrieked in laughter. “You know bright lights make me sneeze.”

Jason smiled and nodded. “Sure.” He replied, rolling his eyes before another photo caught his eye.

standing out among the glossy photographs, he found a photo of his mother, which was marked ‘pretty woman’. It was smaller than the rest, and it was in black and white.

His eyes widened in awe. Jason had no idea when this photo was taken, but the marking was absolutely correct. His mother’s deep chestnut hair, rendered dark gray by the film was falling into glossy and lazy curls. Her usually sad and dark eyes were alight with laughter, and her smile was genuine. Jason knew she was laughing at something Whizzer had said.

“Hm, pretty woman is right.” Cordelia interrupted Jason’s musings. Jason put down the photo and kept looking. He desperately wanted one of Whizzer, and only whizzer. Already he was forgetting how he looked before the mystery illness consumed him and rendered him a skeletal fraction of what he used to be.

“Oh, look at this!” Cordelia exclaimed. “This must have been when he modeled for that designer. God, I remember that Whizzer would threaten to kill me if I ever brought his modeling days up in front of him.” The small blonde brought out a collection of photos cut out from a magazine, held together with a rusting paper clip.

“Huh, he never told me he was a model.” Jason murmured, inching closer to look at the photos.

“Oh, he was only a model for a bit, when he needed the cash. But he was so pretty, he could have made a lot more money as a model than a photographer. I guess he just preferred being behind the camera.” Cordelia explained, a polished nail carefully flipping through the photos.

Whizzer looked so at ease in all of them, leaning against a bar stool, his stare piercing through the paper. Jason remembered how that stare always made him feel that his thoughts mattered. Even now, when he was trying not to think, he could feel the acknowledgement and sincerity of Whizzer.

“Can I have that one?” Jason asked quietly.

“Oh, of course.” Cordelia quickly plucked that photo from the stack, and handed it to Jason. He gingerly put it in his pile. He would give it to his father, or maybe he would keep it for himself.

“Aw, look.” Jason found a picture of him and Whizzer. It was one of those Monday afternoons after school, when his mom was off running errands, and Mendel was still at work. Whizzer would meet him in the school yard, and they would have a nice afternoon at the studio. Whizzer held the camera in one hand, and in the other he held Jason in a faux headlock. The two made silly faces, and Jason showed Cordelia.

The blonde grinned. “Aw, so cute!” She paused for a moment, then continued. “You know, he really loved you. He... he saw you as a son.” Cordelia quickly wiped her eyes. “You know, I think we all do.”

Jason felt tears form. Whizzer was never one to show affection, and especially not to those he didn’t see worthy. Sure, he knew that Whizzer liked him as a person, but Whizzer liked everyone, even Trina. “R-really?” Jason asked quietly, leaning on Cordelia’s shoulder.

“Of course.” Cordelia smiled and rubbed Jason’s back, as the two sat in front of the mountains of photographs. 

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic that I’ve written that I don’t hate? I hope it’s tolerable lol
> 
> This takes place a month or so after whizzer dies
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated!! <3
> 
> Tumblr: freshfloxers


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